Tom Cotter, moving on, forgives pack of dogs

Tom Cotter and his wife, comic Kerri Louise, will be heading for Comix comedy club at Mohegan Sun for performances Feb. 8-10.

Tom Cotter and his wife, comic Kerri Louise, will be heading for Comix comedy club at Mohegan Sun for performances Feb. 8-10.

Photo: Comix Comedy Club / Contributed Photo

Tom Cotter, moving on, forgives pack of dogs

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Stand-up comic Tom Cotter has moved on — no longer wallowing in pain and shame.

When Hearst Connecticut Media last spoke to Cotter about two years ago, he was still feigning indignation and emotional trauma over his runner-up status on season seven of NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” — a television show-competition featuring all manner of entertainers from magicians and ventriloquists to modern dancers and pop singers.

Cotter, you might recall, lost to a bunch of canines — the Olate Dogs, which have become hotter (and more popular) than freshly baked bread.

But Cotter hasn’t done badly either. As the first comic to be a finalist on the reality show, he’s been working steadily at what he calls “The 3 C’s: Conventions, Colleges and Comedy Clubs.”

When we recently caught up with the New York-based funny man, he was reveling in being home with his wife, comic Kerri Louise, and three young sons (15-year-old twins and a 10-year old), following recent performances in Hong Kong, Singapore, Seattle and Dallas.

Soon, he and his wife will be heading for Comix comedy club at Mohegan Sun for performances Feb. 8-10.

When we spoke with Cotter in February 2016, he said, “Those wounds run deep ... losing to dogs in front of millions” of viewers. As a result, his stand-up routine could at times be “venomous. ... I can spend hours” on the subject, he said jokingly.

Well, that all’s behind him. He and other “AGT” stars headed for shows in Las Vegas after the TV season ended. “Oh, everybody back stage (from the show) was sooooo bitter” about the dogs. “But there they were, these dogs, back stage, wagging their tales,” looking incredibly cute “and wanting their bellies scratched. How could you hate that?

“So I put my dog nightmare behind me,” he said. But that doesn’t mean he won’t discuss the experience during his Comix return.

He said he is prone to chat on stage about a lot of personal stuff. “They say to talk about what you know — and I know about being a husband, and a father ... and the news.”

Although he normally doesn’t discuss politics, he feels the need to at least mention the craziness that America is now experiencing — “the big elephant in the room known as Donald J. Trump.”

“You have to be careful when you discuss politics,” he said, laughing. “I’m not far right or far left. I’m sort of middle of the road ... (providing) my everyman impression of what’s going on.”

A “rare” event, said Cotter, will be a Comix performance by the couple on Friday, Feb. 9, at 10:30 p.m., at what is being billed as “Kerri Louise’s Mommy Minute” — especially for “parents who need a time out.”

Cotter said, laughing, their husband-wife routine is in the tradition of “Burns and Allen, Lucy and Desi, Stiller and Meara” — noting three of the great American comedy couples in recent entertainment history. ($35 to $15, 21 and older).

Among his other numerous television and radio credits are: “The Tonight Show,” “Last Comic Standing,” his very own “Comedy Central Presents ... Tom Cotter,” “The Howard Stern Show,” “Comics Unleashed,” multiple appearance on CBS’ “The Late Late Show” and Celebrity Host of “Gotham Comedy Live” on AXS-TV. He frequently performs at The Improv, Catch a Rising Star, The Gotham Comedy Club and Caroline's On Broadway.

His bio notes he has co-starred on an episode of CBS’ “The Good Wife,” and as a voice artist for the likes of NBC, MTV, Pepsi, McDonald’s, Chevrolet and Converse.